It will be a whole new ballgame for Tomah High School boys soccer this fall.

Gone is the double-round robin Mississippi Valley Conference schedule; say hello to the post-season MVC tournament.

Gone are the home games at E.J. McKean Field; say hello to the new field at Veteran’s Park.

Tomah fans will first notice the changes during the home opener Sept. 2 vs. La Crosse Aquinas. The field doesn’t have lights, which means the varsity matches start at 5 p.m., and the junior varsity matches will be played simultaneously at the Veterans Administration Hospital field.

“I think these changes should work out pretty well,” Tomah School District Activities Director Tom Curran said.

Curran believes the new field at Veteran’s Park will be a very positive switch. He said the football playing surface at E.J. McKean Field wasn’t conducive to quality soccer.

“Kids will be able to play on a flat field that’s 75 feet wide instead of 55 feet,” Curran said. “I thought the smaller field led to more physical play, and with the crowned field, the ball was always going out of bounds.”

The new field was finished last spring and has an electronic scoreboard.

The new schedule introduces a single round-robin format and post-season tournament for the first time.

The first two rounds of the tournament are Oct. 7 and Oct. 9 will be played at the site of the highest seeded team based on the regular season standings. The championship game will be played Oct. 14 in La Crosse. There will be consolation brackets, and every team will play at least two tournament games.

“I think the double-round robin was taking up too many dates on the schedule,” Curran said. “We’ve gained up to three more dates to face different competition.”

Curran said some coaches may choose not to fill open dates and simply use them for extra practices.

“Some coaches thought (playing) every Tuesday and Thursday was a little much,” Curran said.

Tomah will also have a new coach this fall. Scott Conzemius, a former player and coach at MVC rival Onalaska, will assume the head coaching job and also begin his first year as a social studies teacher at the high school.

“I’ve always played and coached against Tomah, and I know we’ve got some really good athletes here,” Conzemius told parents and students during the Tomah Sports Boosters Club fall sports kickoff barbecue Thursday.

Tomah is coming off an 8-4-2 season in the MVC. Last fall, Tomah reached the sectional for the first time in school history before losing in the sectional semifinal to Sauk Prairie.